2009 Outstanding Co-op/Intern of the Year Award Winners

During my four years as a marketing major, I discovered my passion for analytics and market research. I have taken specific classes that focus on analytical work in hopes of pursuing this type of career. I was very fortunate to be hired as an intern at Hallmark Cards in Kansas City last summer. I searched for months for an analytical internship with no success. One day, a greeting card sitting on my desk led me to check out Hallmark's career website and after two phone interviews, I was selected as an analytical intern.

I worked on the Wal-Mart team, which was very fast paced and demanding. I was assigned a project where I was given an ambiguous company problem and had twelve weeks to grow an understanding of the business, analyze the situation, and make recommendations to management. I participated in team meetings, trips to Wal-Mart stores to view the displays, and presentations for the interns provided by managers in different parts of the company.

Not only did I love my role at Hallmark but I loved the company itself. Hallmark is a private company and it is like a big family. The average time an employee has worked at Hallmark is 15 years! I was able to create relationships with employees in many different departments, managers, and other interns. I can see why it would be a great place to work. I had an amazing experience being integrated into the Hallmark family and look forward to see what opportunities open for me when I graduate in May.

I have enjoyed every moment that I have spent as an intern at Bradley's Cullom-Davis Library. This work experience not only solidified my resolve in pursuing a Master's Degree in Library and Information Sciences after graduating in May 2010, but it has also allowed me to develop valuable professional skills, ones which I have been proud to showcase during my truly inspiring internship.

Because I expressed an interest in library science, I was initially hired in August 2009 to assist Access Services/Education Librarian Skip Burhans with Bradley's contribution to Alliance's Trail to Learning-Casts and Syndicated Sites (ATLAS), an interactive Illinois history website put on through the Alliance Library System (ALS). The website chiefly consists of a "podmap" of Illinois, complete with "hotspots" that open up podcasts full of rich information on the important people or places that they mark. Producing podcasts for the ATLAS site has allowed me to hone the research and writing skills that I have developed during my years as an English major, skills which are in turn essential for practicing librarians. Once I have completed a script and compiled the images, I then transform them into audio and video podcasts using my new skills with Audacity recording software and Microsoft Movie Maker.

My responsibilities at the Cullom-Davis Library expanded at the beginning of the Fall 2009 semester when I began not only working at the Circulation and Reserves desk, but also assisting Mr. Burhans with other library tasks. Though I regret having less time to spend on the ATLAS project, I thoroughly enjoy my other duties as well. For instance, whether it be to charge out books, rent out laptops and reserve materials, or to help locate sources for research, I am always thrilled to be able to help patrons utilize the library's many resources. Also, my further work with Mr. Burhans has given me experience with fulfilling ILLiad article requests, as well as allowing me to play a major role in producing two library videos that demonstrate how to use the new Campus Printing Service.

Overall, I cherish the time I have spent at the Cullom-Davis Library this semester! It has been both an enjoyable and valuable experience, one that allowed me to hone existing skills and acquire new ones. Most importantly though, this internship has given me all of the inspiration and encouragement that I needed to pursue a career in library science.

As a Communications Major with a concentration in Advertising and minors in Marketing and Leadership Studies, there is an abundant list of career paths I could potentially pursue. However, the field of Media Planning fulfills my love of math and logic, as well as fine arts and creative thinking. During my sophomore year, I met with several Bradley Alumni working for Starcom MediaVest Group, a large media agency headquartered in Chicago, IL. After our discussion, I applied for the summer internship program and was lucky enough to receive a position.

Starcom is a media communications agency that specializes in making connections between consumers and brands. Its goal is to "help marketers get the right consumers' attention…at the right time, in the right place, with the right message." At the agency, groups are classified as Strategy or Activation teams, depending on their specialties. Strategy teams work with a specific client to develop overall media strategies, assign budgets to campaigns, and choose which mediums to include in these campaigns. Activation teams, on the other hand, specialize in a certain medium (television, print, digital, etc.) and work with all of the clients who choose to include this medium in their campaigns. After my first summer working on an international client account, Oracle Strategy, I knew I had to apply for a second internship at this amazing agency. The following summer, I became one of five interns to return to the agency and I worked as a Media Intern for the Publishing Activation Group (The PAG).

As a member of The PAG, I was responsible for assisting with the creation of media plans for clients seeking advertising space in a variety of magazines and newspapers. In addition, I monitored our internal blog, researched the effectiveness of print vehicles in a media mix, and much more. Through this position, I gained exposure to a wide array of clients, including Altria, Allstate, Exelon, the Museum of Science and Industry, Heinz, Nintendo, LEGO, and Samsung. By transitioning from a Strategy position to an Activation position, I was able to gain a more thorough understanding of media planning as a step-by-step process. I also experienced first-hand how Strategy and Activation teams work together to deliver the best results to their shared clients.

My two internships at Starcom have not only been great learning experiences, but they have also provided me with friends, contacts in the industry, and great memories. Although leaving Bradley's campus in May will feel bittersweet, I am confident that because of these internships I will graduate prepared to begin my career.

As a senior industrial engineering major and business administration minor, I knew early in my college career that in order to be successful in the engineering field I needed to take full advantage of internships and co-ops. As an industrial engineer, there is a variety of career paths to choose from and I had no clue which one I wanted to take. In order to make a good decision, I determined it would be best if I interned with multiple companies to find out where my passion was.

My first co-op was at Caterpillar in Peoria, IL as a manufacturing engineering intern with the Caterpillar Production System. This was my first exposure to the working field and I was eager to dive in and become acclimated to my new environment. During my eight months with the company, I gained my six-sigma green belt and applied the methodology to my projects as well as assisted with conducting training at various facilities in project scope.

The next year, I interned with Hallmark Cards in Metamora, IL as a process engineer. As a process engineer, I worked closely with the carton storage area to design a new layout, process flow diagram and research new software for the facility to use. During this internship, I gained an inside look at how industrial engineering can be used in any industry and I was excited to find additional internships that I could add to my list of potential career options.

For the past two summers I have interned with John Deere in Des Moines, IA. The first summer I interned in quality engineering where I worked with an assembly area and I quickly developed a love for working directly with the operation. I was responsible for preparing daily reports on my assigned areas as well as improving current processes and gaining operator buy in before implementation. For my second internship, I chose to revisit manufacturing engineering. During the internship I took on the responsibilities of a full time engineer and used every skill I possessed to make a difference in my group. I enjoyed providing direct line side support to my areas and solving any ergonomic issues that arose to make their job as well as mine easier.

After looking back at all my internship experience, I noticed that I had no industrial engineering internship. I landed a professional internship with Walt Disney World where I had the opportunity to do industrial engineering work for the Labor Operations group. In Labor Operations, I was a member of the Forecasting and Workload team. This internship was unique because I was exposed to two lines of business. I provided weekly forecasting and workload support for three areas in the resort and worked on projects for the food and beverage team. While working at Disney, I collected data and conducted statistical analysis for my projects as well as make sure my projects were both labor and cost effective.

I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to intern with four different companies. My internships have equipped me with the tools and experience needed to be successful as an engineer. I am positive that my internships have solidified my confidence that I have found a career path that will be very happy with.

As a Junior Nursing Major who was undecided about what area of nursing to pursue upon graduation, I felt an internship would help guide me toward a future career path. I attended the Nursing and Physical Therapy Career Fair, where I gathered information about several hospitals offering internships.

I completed my internship within the Cardiovascular Services Department at Proctor Hospital. It is a specialty area that performs an array of diagnostic and surgical procedures of the heart. I chose this area because I did not have prior experience in diagnostics and surgery. Also, it encompassed three departments and I was eager to obtain as much experience as possible.

The staff within all three departments was very receptive to me as a student, and treated me as a fellow colleague. I obtained a good repertoire with a few surgeons and was asked if I wanted to scrub in and assist with an open heart case. Of course I accepted the offer and it was the highlight of my internship. I am a visual learner so actually seeing the heart anatomy and its functions right before my eyes was an unforgettable experience. My other duties consisted of preparing patients for procedures/tests and monitoring them for complications afterwards.

Spending my summer interning in a specialty area has opened a new window of opportunities in my mind. First of all, I feel I was exposed to a completely different aspect of nursing that is not touched on in nursing school. Secondly, I met a handful of individuals who enjoyed me as an intern and have extended to offer recommendations for my future career. I thoroughly enjoyed my position, and would recommend it to other nursing students. Most importantly, this experience helped me discover my passion for cardiac nursing and has directed me toward future career path.